Tax return kerfuffle

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2010, file photo, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in Washington. Once and possibly future Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney says in a new book that President Barack Obama's international outreach efforts during his first year in office have been "kindling" to the "anti-American fires burning all across the globe.

OK, let's sound off on Mitt Romney's tax returns.

Should he release several years' worth of tax returns? Critics say the former Massachusetts governor and presumptive Republican presidential nominee needs to be fully transparent on how he earned his fortune. Romney's supporters say releasing the returns only would fuel more inquiries and create a distraction from what they say are the "real issues" of this campaign, namely the national economy.

What do you think? Should he release the returns?

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Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear. Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787

“I’m a big believer that no matter who you are, or what office you’re running for, you should be as transparent as you can be with your tax returns and other aspects of your life so that people have the appropriate ability to judge your background and what have you.http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2012/07/perry-candidates-should-be-t...
Meanwhile, I wonder if Rick Perry will pay back the Texas taxpayers who funded his run for President. Hey, it’s your money Perry spent. Is it Ok to take from your family to support a politician’s ambitions?

The issue of what other private citizens might or should do is irrelevant. When you aspire to be the leader of the Free World and its most powerful citizen, your future constituents have a right to expect a higher standard of transparency and that means sharing all meaningful data about who you are. Tax returns, especially for someone known to have considerable sums squirreled away in places like the Bahamas and Cayman Islands, certainly qualify.

If Mitt is truly just a rich Boy Scout, he has nothing to lose by proving how his tax behavior has been squeaky clean. Conversely, his refusal to follow his father's example and release a decade's worth of returns or more creates a question in the mind of the voters as to what he doesn't want us to see. If he is not really hiding something, and I am willing to assume that is true lacking contrary evidence, it certainly doesn't seem prudent to let the issue fester, given the razor thin margin of victory that one of the two gentlemen is likely to have in November.

"When you aspire to be the leader of the Free World and its most powerful citizen, your future constituents have a right to expect a higher standard of transparency and that means sharing all meaningful data about who you are."...rrose

Exactly what I thought about Obama's records! BUT seems like He is exempt...

Now we know...Just Mormans are always held to a higher standard?...OooooK.....

not meant to be rhetorical but why are some of you putting college transcripts on the same level as tax returns?

Are we going to begin to quibble that a 'C' in european lit deams him unfit to deal with diplomatic matters, or what? I understand I don't want a complete moron, F student running the country, but the man graduated. And we have set our standards in America to where thats good enough. Ha, the dr operating on you could have been a 'C' student as well as the person teaching your children.

I dunno, I think this is a 'tit for tat' strategy that really needs to be reexamined. I guess, yes, we could play dueling report cards, but I am MUCH more interested in the finances seeing as thats directly putting your money where your mouth is.

how exactly are you going to use those school records? You have sounded off many times that higher education is a form of liberal indoctrination. I would expect Ivy League schools would magnify that sentiment.

Considering Ann Romney believes that they have shown everything "you people" deserve to know I guess it's case closed. Let's be real, this wouldn't even be an issue but for the fact that there is an appearance of the Romney's hiding something. So if they're not then nip it in the bud & show the tax returns. That way we can move on to other asinine non issue distractions like voter ID's & the like.

He said that he left Bain Capital in February of 1999 but his name appeared as President, CEO, and the 100% stockholder of Bain up until 2001 in SEC filings and he was drawing at least $100,000.00 in salary from Bain for being on the Board of Directors during that time. Now I can understand why someone would not want to be affiliated with the Bain Chop Shop because what they did in a lot of cases was just outright sleazy and it broke several companies according to the Wall Street Journal, not exactly a bastion of anti-capitalist sentiment. These private equity firms for the most part truly are vultures and parasites. I hope that he does not release the returns because it is killing him politically just like Gingrich, Santorum, and Perry said. The only reason that you don't release is that you are lying, which Romney has no problem doing as evidenced by his past, or there are terribly embarrassing things in those returns and it must be really bad if the campaign has made the calculation not to release because that would be less problematic and embarrassing than releasing the returns. Perry, as dumb as he is, is still calling for the release of these tax returns because even he can see what is happening. Romney is about to lose.

Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear. Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787

1.) whatever document the state of their birth issues under the state law. We've seen what Hawaii issued for Obama but where is Romney's?
2.) all school transcripts from colleges they attended including graduate schools. Neither man has presented these.
3.) tax returns for the past 10 years. Obama released 8 years of returns when he ran in 2008 and every return as president. Mitt gave 23 years of returns to the McCain vetting group do having 10 years seems like a good middle number. Question: if Mitt wins, I wonder if he would release his returns while president?

Much of Romney's claim to being qualified has to do with his successful business management and investment acumen, done the American way, honorably and above-board. He has been accused of getting rich by using cutthroat tactics and tax avoidance and investment strategies which a significant number of voters might view as less than admirable exploitation of loopholes in the tax code. He and his advisers will decide which hurts his chances of election more: revealing the documents and living with the consequences of letting the public see them, or refusing to reveal them and living with the consequences of that decision. What would be worse would be to refuse to reveal, taking a lot of heat for that decision and then deciding to reveal after all.

Thank you John....If you ran for political office, Would you submit to a full background check?.... Would you release all your records?..... I would vote for you even if you didn't, because I like your head o hair...an I believe in what you see is what you get.... So I am pulling for the most secretive man in America, Obama......